Why Are Black People Nearly 4 Times as Likely to Be Arrested for Weed?

Supporters of legalized marijuana light up at exactly 4:20 p.m. in Civic Center Park April 20, 2012, in Denver.

Marc Piscotty/Getty Images

Millions of people each year are arrested for marijuana possession, but a black person is 3.73 times as likely as a white person to be arrested for the same offense. That, says the American Civil Liberties Union, is a form of racial injustice.

So, this week, the organization launched The Uncovery, an advocacy tool that lets users take their own local facts (in Pennsylvania, for example, the racial disparity is even more extreme, with black people 5.19 times as likely as whites to be arrested) and turn them into clear graphic messages like the ones below.